Best Draft Pick In Boston Celtics History

When it comes to the Boston Celtics greatest ever draft pick, many will point to Bill Russell, and given his eleven championships in thirteen seasons as a Celtic, it's easy to see why. But Russell was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks in 1956 and traded to Boston for Easy Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan. Greatest Celtic of all time, perhaps, but not their greatest draft pick. 

Rightfully, the title goes to Larry Bird. Or maybe more specifically, to the creative genius of Red Auerbach selecting Bird with the sixth pick in the 1978 NBA Draft, a full year before Bird would even play a single NBA game, still finishing his junior season at Indiana State. 

A small-town kid from French Lick, Indiana, Bird had briefly dropped out of Indiana University before transferring to Indiana State, a program few had paid attention to prior to Bird’s arrival.   Auerbach was one of the first ones to take note. Averaging 30.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists during his time with the Sycamores, Bird won the National Player of the Year award during his senior season and engaged in a legendary championship game against Magic Johnson and the Michigan State Spartans.  

In the season before Bird arrived in Beantown, the Celtics finished with a 29-53 record. What followed was one of the most impressive turnarounds the league has seen. Finishing 61-21 in his first year, Bird captured the Rookie of the Year award, earned a spot on both the All-NBA and All-Star teams, and was in the top four in MVP votes. The following season, Bird led the Celtics to their first of three championships during his tenure with the team. Three consecutive MVP awards, twelve All-Star selections, ten All-NBA honors, and a pair of Finals MVPs in thirteen seasons, Bird’s impact not only on the Boston Celtics but the league itself was legendary. 

Entering the league together, the Bird-Magic rivalry arguably saved the NBA during a period when the league was struggling for an audience, especially when compared to other North American major sports leagues. Bird’s blue-collar work ethic and killer instinct were something that the league needed and that Boston fans could relate to.  

Unfortunately for Bird and the NBA, injuries robbed him of three of his final four seasons, forcing him to retire in 1992. Redefining what a slow-footed, vertically challenged forward could be, Bird took a struggling Celtics team and turned them into a dynasty. One of the most competitive players in the history of the game, Bird was a notorious trash talker who had no problem backing up his words. Arguably one of the top ten players in the history of the game, Bird was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998 and named to the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary teams. Hats off to Auerbach for taking a gamble on a farm boy from French Lick, Indiana.